Why do the ‘reproductive cells’ (from each individual parent) die? I feel they only have apparent life, like a torch not connected to a power source, after a time the battery runs out.

Those few lucky enough to find a mate are transformed. Why? Where does the life come from that makes them grow?

Perhaps there is something else that happens when the double helix is formed. We can observe the creation or forming of a physical body and watch it grow. But where does our personality fit in? I’ve been told that it is just a chemical reaction related to the physical brain and our mechanical heart but I find this hard to accept. I think it is more likely the other way around. It is our personality which causes the chemical reactions in our physical body?

Take stress for instance, caused through mental and emotional strain. When we are stressed the chemicals in our physical body go crazy.

Getting back to the CD Rom, as you mentioned it is an inert blueprint for a programme. Put it in a computer with its hardware brain and mechanical chip and still nothing happens. Turn the switch and allow power to enter the system and we can watch it grow, watch it ‘signal and be self-sustaining’. Have you ever seen electricity? No, but you can see the effect of it. Surely this could also apply to ‘living organisms’. We see the switch turned on at conception and turned off again at death. We see the affect of that switch.

There is no difference at the molecular level between what is alive or not

If there is no difference at the molecular level between what is alive or not, where does this difference lie? Richard Dawkins refers to complex and simple things, where complex things can reproduce and simple things can’t. I think it is more than that. Complex things have feelings and emotions; thoughts; and the strength or power needed to control the physical body they have. We laugh when we hear of people talking to plants to encourage them to grow, but plants are sensitive and do respond to TLC.

Findthesoul wrote:I understand that when the two strands of DNA come together they form a blueprint. Surely it is this blueprint that gathers the required proteins and molecules to grow.

See here is the problem: You have no clue about how DNA and cells in general are working. This is not terrible, you can learn. There are tutorials on this website (look at the top of the page). There are textbooks of biology available for free all over the net, this is one that is legal, full of very good books and perfectly trustworthy for example. It would really be useful if you could start here.

I do not mean that your questions are not valid, and that I do not want to discuss more with you, but if you had a basic idea of biology from the start, that would make it easier to have a relevant discussion. Because in your latest post it is obvious that you do not understand that the DNA is not floating in the middle of nowhere, but is in a cell, and that this cell is important for the outcome of the development. DNA by itself is nothing. It can be interpreted only within a cell. Just as a DVD full of computer programs is nothing without the civilization around it to provide computers, electricity and all the things needed to interpret it. In fact you can buy DNA in quite large quantity, put it in water, or even in presence of proteins, sugars and amino acids, and nothing will happen if you do not have a cell around.

As for the life of reproductive cells, as you point out after a few days they die. Sometimes. Plant pollen can be quite stable (hundreds of years). But look at them, the batteries are varying in size, and if you look at a chicken egg, the large amount of nutrients provided for the multiplication of the fertilized cell is visible. And it has been provided by the former generation, just as well as all the cellular machinery that will permit the cell multiplication. Life does not happen in a vacuum. It is a continuous process that rely heavily on the historical contingencies. For evolution as well.

Patrick

Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)

Thanks for all that information. I have done some research and I think I might be in the wrong branch of science. My main interest is psychology. Although I haven't studied at University, as a writer I study people. I am working on a hypothesis and came up with the question "What if DNA were living?" and google came up with this site. You were right I had in mind that DNA was floating by itself and you have helped me straighten that out.

One major reason that DNA is non-living is that it has no noticeable response to a stimulus. Think about it, DNA does not adapt to drastic changes in environment like it usually does. If you assume that DNA is living by your reasons, then a virus can also be considered living, which the majority have as of now reject because a virus requires a host to replicate therefore is not self-sustaining.

Pavlov demonstrated effecting placebo phenomena in multi celled organisms by manipulation of their drives-reactions. Now placebo and imagination phenomena are demonstrated also in Earth’s smallest, base organisms, in the genes and genomes of multi-celled organisms, in our primal 1st stratum and 2nd stratum base organisms.A very good reason to smile.Now an interesting chain is exposed to our view, the Genes-Virtual Reality Chain, a most intriguing cultural evolution chain extending from the genesis of our genes to nowadays, throughout life, a virtual reality existence, and by virtual reality phenomena, exploitations and manipulations.

From “Life Genesis From Aromaticity/H-Bonding”http://universe-life.com/2011/09/30/ear ... h-bonding/Natural selection is E (energy) temporarily constrained in an m (mass) format.Natural selection is a universal ubiquitous trait of ALL mass spin formats, inanimate and animate.Life began/evolved on Earth with the natural selection of inanimate RNA, then of some RNA nucleotides, then arriving at the ultimate mode of natural selection – self replication.Dov

E = mc2 relates E and m via constant c. However, since E and c are constant m must also be constant…?!Yet for engineering-technology applications the equation is practical, fine.

E=Total[m(1 + D)] relates E and m via the variable D. D is the sum total of distance, in ALL spatial directions, travelled by m since start of reconversion of m to E.This relationship is science, not engineering or technology. E is constant, m and D are variables. D cannot be less than zero, and m varies with D. This is universal reality.

In this reality there is no missing E. E is there, transformed to mD. mD is E.In this reality there is no missing m. m is there, transformed to mD. mD is E.

Think about it. This is the basis-essence of Evolution, of ALL evolutions. Evolutions are the quantum mechanics of all processes.

What drives “species come to be” is what drives all life/organisms to come to be, i.e. a proven successful route, circumstantially evolved culture, that enhanced the RNAs’ constrained energy by the culturally enhanced RNAs’ proliferation, followed with accordingly alternatively spliced expression.

This is evolution, i.e. enhanced constrained energy to delay-postpone the universal conversion of mass-formats to energy, to the energy that keeps fueling the expansion of the universe. This expansion will be overcome by gravity upon depletion of the universe’s massfuel, and will be followed by empansion for accelerating reverting of energy to mass all the way back to singularity. The universe is an allmass allenergy poles affair.

THE National Science And Technology Policy ISSUE In The USA (And Therefore Elsewhere...):

The early 20th century brief burst of scientific evolution started expiring 90 years ago, at the birth of the "scientists" (what does this mean?) trade-union AAAS. True to the AAAS trade-union interests the scientific evolution has grown into the technology-industrial evolution, with evolved counter-enlightenment, greed culture.

Unravel Some Of Nature's Complexities, A + B + C(adnauseam, ad shown where these data-based statements are wrong)

A.

UNRAVEL COMPLEXITIES OF GENETICS. Extend Evolution/Natural Selection Backward To Genes/Genomes, BOTH ARE ORGANISMS.

Again, Correct Some Figments Of Science Imagination:

1. Dark energy and matter YOK. Per E=Total[m(1 + D)] all the energy and matter of the universe are accounted for.Adopt space-massdistance concept, mass-to-energy reconversion.

2. Higgs Particle YOK. Mass forms below some value of the above D.

3. Galactic clusters formed by conglomeration?Galactic clusters formed by Big-Bang's dispersion, evidenced by their Newtonian behaviour including expansion acceleration.

4. The universe expansion is fueled by the mass-to-enrgy reconversion. Eventually, as expansion will slow down, will run out of massfuel, gravity will overcome expansion and initiate empansion back to singularity. The universe is a cyclic array of energy-mass dualism, between all-energy and all-mass poles, under omnipresent gravity.

5. Natural Selection is a trait of organisms, life?No. Natural selection is ubiquitous for ALL mass formats, all spin arrays. It derives from the expansion of the universe. All mass formats, regardless of size and type, from black holes to smallest particles, strive to increase their constrained energy in attempt to postpone their own reconversion to energy, to the energy that fuels cosmic expansion.

6. Life is an enigma?Life is just another type of mass array, a self-replicating mass array. Earth life is a replicating RNAs mass. It has always been and still is an RNA world. ALL Earth's organisms are evolved RNAs, evolved for maintaining-enhancing Earth's biosphere, for prolonging RNAs survival.

7. Cells are Earth-life's primal organisms?NO. Earth's life day one was the day on which RNA began replicating. RNAs, genes, are ORGANISMS. And so are their evolved templates, (RNA and DNA) genomes, ORGANISMS, as evidenced by life's chirality and by life's sleep.

8. Circadian Schmircadian sleep origin? Sleep is inherent for life via the RNAs, the primal Earth ORGANISMS originated and originally active only under direct sunlight, in their pre-metabolism genesis era.

9. Epigenetics are heritable gene functions changes not involving changes in DNA sequence?The "heritable or enduring changes" are epiDNAtics, not epigenetics. Alternative splicing is not epigenetics, even if/when not involving alteration of the DNA sequence. Earth life is an RNA world.

10.Genetics drive biology and culture modifications?NO. It is culture that modifies genetics, not genetics that modifies culture. Culture modifies genetics simply via the evolutionary natural selection process of the RNA ORGANISMS. Likewise many natural genetic changes are due to aging and/or circumstantial effects on the genes and/or genomes ORGANISMS, similar to aging and/or evolutionary processes in monocell communities or in multicelled organisms.

SCIENCE SHOULD UNFREEZE. SCIENCE SHOULD ADJUST ITS VISION, COMPREHENSION AND CONCEPTS.

The universe, and life within it, are not just conglomerations of mechanisms. The universe, and life within it, have come into being by the nature of energy-mass dualism, and their fate, their final outcome, is governed by this dualism. The genesis and, most probable cyclic, existence of the universe are governed by the energy-mass relationship.

Energy-mass relationship governs also the routes, the mechanisms, of cosmic and life evolutions.

Mechanisms do not set/determine the classical physics fate states. Mechanisms are routes of evolution between classical physics fate states. Quantum mechanics are mechanisms, probable, possible and actual mechanisms of getting from one to other classical physics states WITHIN the expanse from cosmic singularity to the maximum expanded universe and back to singularity states.

The universe is the archetype of quantum within classical physics. This is the fractal oneness of the universe. Astronomically there are two physics. A classical Newtonian physics behaviour of and between galactic clusters, and a quantum physics behaviour WITHIN the galactic clusters.

Life's Evolution Is The Quantum Mechanics Of Biology.UNRAVEL COMPLEXITIES OF GENETICS. Extend Evolution/Natural Selection Backward To Genes/Genomes.BOTH ARE ORGANISMS.

The origin-reason and the purpose-fate of life are mechanistic, ethically and practically valueless. Life is the cheapest commodity on Earth. Human life is just one of many nature's routes for the natural survival of RNAs, the base Earth organism.

It is up to humans themselves to elect the purpose and format of their life as individuals and as group-members.

PS: How have the USA government and nation/public come to allow a plainly obvious ("scientists", whatever it means) trade-union, AAAS, to be involved in a host of national policies and budgets matters? The motives/interests of the AAAS, just another trade-union, are NOT always/necessarily congruent with the nation's/public welfare and it definitely hinders very effectively advancement of basic science...DH

In basic biology, you are taught what constitutes life. DNA would be organic matter and a biotic factor, but it is not alive... Even if you try to bring up any abiogenesis/biopoesis theory. DNA is simply a material used by living organisms. Viruses, also, if you remember, are not alive. That's really all the argument you need.

A.Purines and pyrimidines are two of the building blocks of nucleic acids. Only two purines and three pyrimidines occur widely in nucleic acids.

B.Pyrimidine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound similar to benzene and pyridine, containing two nitrogen atoms at positions 1 and 3 of the six-member ring.A purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound, consisting of a pyrimidine ring fused to an imidazole ring. Purines, including substituted purines and their tautomers, are the most widely distributed kind of nitrogen-containing heterocycle in nature.Aromaticity ( Kekule, Loschmidt, Thiele) is essential for the Krebs Cycle for energy production.

Natural selection is a universal ubiquitous trait of ALL mass spin formats, inanimate and animate.

Life began/evolved on Earth with the natural selection of inanimate RNA, then of some RNA nucleotides, then arriving at the ultimate mode of natural selection – self replication.

Aromaticity enables good constraining of energy and good propensity to hydrogen bonding. The address of Earth Life Genesis, of phasing from inanimate to animate natural selection, is Aromaticity.Hydrogen Bonding.

- Earth life, self-replicating mass format, is just another naturally selected mass format.- The primal base organisms of Earth life are the genes, i.e. the RNA nucleotides.- All Earth life formats are progenies of genes evolution.- Genomes are organisms evolved, and continuously modified, by the genes as their functional templates.- Genetics is a progeny of culture, which is reaction to circumstances.- The drive and goal of evolution of ALL mass formats is to enhance their energy constraint, to postpone their reconversion to energy, which goes on at constant rate since the Big Bang.

It takes a change of culture, of the mode of reactions to circumstances, to effect a change of habit. Genetics is the progeny of culture, not vice versa. This applies in ALL fields of human activities, including economy, to ALL personal and social behavioral aspects.

Since the early 1900’s ALL “science” has been taken over by the Technology Culture of the religious Americans, represented by the trade-union-church AAAS. Plain and simple. There has not been any science in the world since then except “religious-American-science”.

On the blissful religious science ignorance…:

USA-World Science Hegemony Is Science Blind

Since the early 2000s I have been posting many articles on science items surveyed and analyzed by me, without religious background-concepts. I have been doing this because I was deeply disturbed by the religiosity of the 1848-founded AAAS trade-union and by the consequent religious background-tint of its extensive “scientific” publications and activities.

On my next birthday I’ll be 88-yrs old. I know that I’m deeply engaged in a Don Quixotic mission-war to extricate-free the USA and world Science from the clutches and consequences of the religious-trade-union-church AAAS, adopted strangely by the majority of scientifically ignorant religious god-trusting Americans and by their most other humanity following flocks…

But I am sincerely confident that only thus it is feasible and possible to embark on a new, rational, Human culture (Scientism) and on new more beneficial and effective technology courses for humanity…